'War on women' a Dem exaggeration

Mar. 24, 2012 05:03 PM

From the political notebook:

The effort by Democrats to make the case that Republicans are waging a "war on women" has been interesting to watch. As often is the case in politics, the accusation reveals more about the accuser than the accused.

At the national level, that's been the spin to try to wrest control of the flap over the Obama administration not providing an exemption for religious-affiliated institutions -- principally Catholic schools, hospitals and charities -- from its mandate that all health- insurance plans include free contraceptives.

Now, I don't think government should be dictating what private employers cover or don't cover in their benefit programs. But the flap has been overblown. Under "Obamacare," employers would no longer be, as a practical matter, the only place their employees can get affordable health insurance. Catholic institutions not liking the mandate could simply stop offering health insurance, pay the Obamacare employer fee and let their employees purchase their coverage on the Obamacare exchanges.

That said, supporting an opt-out for Catholic institutions, thus requiring women who work for them to buy their own contraceptives, doesn't amount to much of a "war" on women. In fact, according to a recent New YorkTimes/CBS News poll, women support such an opt-out by a strong margin, 53 percent to 38 percent.

So, do a majority of women support a war on themselves? Or do Democrats have a distorted view of women and their political beliefs?

At the state level, the claim of a "war on women" is based on two measures making their way through the Legislature.

The first would provide a broader exemption from a state mandate that health-insurance plans include contraceptive coverage for any employer with a religious objection to it, not just for employers who happen to be religious institutions.

This is a much broader opt-out provision than congressional Republicans are trying to get adopted at the federal level. Nevertheless, the New York Times/ CBS News poll indicated support for such a broader exemption, 51 percent in favor to 40 percent opposed. Women were evenly divided, 46 percent in favor and 44 percent opposed.

Apparently, women have a greater respect for the religious beliefs of employers than Democrats think they should.

The second bill restricts abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Democrats believe that abortion should be treated the same as any other surgical procedure and that attempts to subject it to greater requirements is part of the "war on women."

The American people, however, see abortion very differently than as simply another surgical procedure. A Gallup poll last year indicated that 51 percent of Americans believe that abortion is morally wrong, compared with 39 percent who say it is morally acceptable. There are few other medical procedures about which the American people would be so queasy.

Gallup also found that 61 percent of the American people believe that abortion should be either entirely illegal or legal in "only a few circumstances," compared with only 37 percent who think it should be always legal or legal in "most circumstances."

There was no statistical difference between men and women regarding the morality of abortion or how widely it should be legal. In fact, more women than men thought abortion should be illegal entirely.

At a press conference to denounce these bills and develop the theme of a Republican "war on women," Democratic state Sen. Linda Lopez characterized supporters as having "fundamentalist, Taliban-like religious beliefs."

So, who exactly is Lopez accusing of having "Taliban-like religious beliefs"?

These two bills are being ardently supported by the Catholic Church. According to the exit poll in the 2008 presidential race, 24 percent of the Arizona electorate is Catholic.

Evangelicals generally share Catholic opposition to abortion and support the right of Catholic employers not to have to pay for birth control based upon religious objections. According to the exit poll, evangelicals are an additional 21 percent of the Arizona electorate.

So, Lopez is attacking and slandering the religious beliefs of 45 percent of Arizona voters.

And Democrats in Arizona wonder why they seem consigned to permanent minority status?